MEDICATION ADHERENCE IN HISPANIC RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS PATIENTS

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune inflammatory joint disease of unknown etiology that affects not only joints but also other organ systems in the body. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic and incurable condition. However, symptoms can be effectively and durably controlled with medications. Uncontrolled RA can lead to irreversible joint damage, significant functional disability, poor quality of life, enhanced comorbidities, and significant morbidity and mortality. When patients adhere to treatment regimens, disability can be prevented. When RA patients are treated early, they maintain their functional ability (Heimans et al., 2015). As Radner, Smolen, & Aletaha (2014) point out, achieving clinical remission is the goal to prevent joint destruction and possible disability. The patient’s decision to take medication is typically based on knowledge and beliefs about their illness and treatment regimen (van den Bemt, Zwikker, & van den Ende, 2012). The problem that this project addressed was to identify barriers to medication adherence among Hispanic with RA in order to develop an education pamphlet designed to increase medication adherence. The aim of this project was to address the gaps in the existing literature by combining information about education and non-adherence by increasing the knowledge about the disease progression of RA among Hispanics to increase RA medication adherence. Poor treatment adherence was a major contributor to disease progression, which can lead to disability. Among the Hispanic population, the iv adherence rates were 49% (White, 2014). Patient’s knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes contribute to adherence. The present project found that 64 percent of the study participants were non-adherent to their RA medications. Thus, participants with low medication concerns and high necessity were non-adherent. It appeared that adherence to medication had multiple influences, with education being a contributor. Individuals with higher education were more likely to adhere to their medication regimen. The PKQ results showed that the majority of the participants had low knowledge regarding their RA. This data is used as baseline information in the development and in the implementation of the the educational pamphlet. The self-administered postquestionnaire will be distributed after implementation of the education pamphlet to determine if there was a change in knowledge, beliefs, and medication adherence.